Pete Thomas Outdoors

Southern Resident orcas dazzle onlookers in Puget Sound

Endangered Southern Resident orcas paid an up-close and prolonged visit Tuesday to Vashon-Maury Island in Puget Sound on Tuesday, and Aimee Lewis van Rockel was on hand to capture the remarkable image atop this post.

Members of the J and K pods cruised and cavorted beyond the shore and also breezed through ferry lanes while swimming in large groups, providing a wild-and-free orca show that lasted for hours.

Meg McDonald also was on hand, at Point Robinson, with a video camera, and she captured some great footage of the popular orcas. The video is 10 minutes long, but fans of the beleaguered Southern Residents probably will not mind.  The video is posted below.

 

Legal to sell flies made with big-game and waterfowl parts?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: My friends that hunt big game and waterfowl often give me deer hide or duck wings and body feathers which I use to tie flies for fishing. In the past I have given them flies in return for the hair, fur and feathers. In addition, I have sold flies to a few local sport stores, which may contain materials provided by my hunter friends. Would I be violating Fish and Game laws by trading (bartering) or selling these flies? Granted, these hunters provided materials that make a very small portion of the fly materials used to make flies. However, I grew up among sportsmen in a culture that encouraged the sharing of the harvest (taken by hunting or fishing) and an ethic of utilizing the harvest to the fullest extent (meat, fur, hair and feathers). Please let me know. (Terry T., Davis)

Answer: Yes and No. If the flies you tie are made only with the deer hair your friends have given you, then you may sell them (Fish and Game Code, section 4303). Any of the flies you tie that contain bird feathers from birds lawfully taken in California may not be sold as this would be a violation of multiple sections of the Fish and Game Code (including sections 3039 and 3504).

The law does provide some exceptions for mammals that are taken under a Trapping License or that are raised under a Domesticated Game Breeding License.

Buying and selling parts of bird and mammal species that do not exist in the wild in California are not restricted under this law. For a list of the species that do exist in the wild in California, please go to www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/genplantsanimals.html.

Q: If I go out alone and I have 10 hoop nets on my boat, but I only have five baited nets, am I ok or do I need to remove the unbaited nets to comply? (Anonymous)

Gray whale sighting heralds beginning of 2012-13 season

It was just a lone gray whale, spotted multiple times Wednesday off the Los Angeles area as it swam in a southerly direction. But this particular mammal appears to have heralded the start of the 2012-13 whale-watching season (although many landings won't begin sending out boats until late December).

"Let Gray Whale season begin!" Capt. Carl Mayhugh of the vessel Christopher, which runs out of Long Beach, proclaimed on his blog, after his passengers spent 40 minutes watching the large juvenile or young adult whale off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

This is not the first gray whale that has appeared off Southern California this fall. There have been random sightings in recent weeks, some of which could have been of the same mammal.

But this was the first sighting of a gray whale that is in definite migration mode, headed south from the Arctic region toward Baja California's lagoons. It's among about 20,000 gray whales that will complete the 10,000-14,000 mile round-trip voyage throughout the course of the season.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, who runs the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project from Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, kept track of Wednesday's sightings and provided the following capsules:

1)  The whale, which has a large whitish area near its head (see photo), was first spotted off of Manhattan Beach pier at 8:30 a.m., by Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium Co-Director Val Hill.

2) It was next sighted off Topaz Ave. in Redondo Beach, at 9:40 a.m., by ACS/LA Gray Whale Census Volunteer Natalie Massey.

3) Massey spotted the same whale at 10:15, off nearby Bluff Cove to the south.

4)  The whale appeared west of Point Vicente by ACS/LA Gray Whale Census Volunteer Sheila Parker, and was watched from 11:05-11:15.

5) Capt. Carl Mayhugh and passengers aboard the Christopher watched the same whale from 2-2:40 p.m. off the Trump Golf Course on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Perhaps the whale will be spotted Thursday off Orange County or San Diego, or later in the season in one of Baja's nursing and calving lagoons.

Note: The ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project kicks off its 30th season Saturday. Volunteers are needed to help spot whales and other mammals, and document their behavior. The site is the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. All participants use binoculars; several use spotting scopes to confirm and detail sightings. Weather data also is recorded. Those interested in volunteering can contact Alisa Schulman-Janiger via email at [email protected]

--Image is courtesy of Capt. Carl Mayhugh

Humpback whales visit father, daughter in a canoe: 'OMG!'

 

A father and daughter experienced the thrill of a lifetime when they were approached by humpback whales while in a canoe near Fraser Island off Queensland, Australia. (Note: this footage is from September but a more recent pirated version--now offline--had put this incredible event back in the news.)
 
The footage shows how amazingly close this encounter became, and the girl's reaction--as much a highlight as the whale footage--reveals that she was both awe-stricken and, understandably,  nervous.

Humpback whales, which can measure to about 50 feet and weigh as much as 40 tons, are famously curious toward boaters and are  known to approach and even nudge passenger vessels. But to experience a visit like this while aboard a canoe?

The girl's initial response says it all: "O ... M ... G!"

Angler lands 1,000-pound bluefin tuna off Nova Scotia

Marc Towers, while on a recent fishing trip off Nova Scotia, landed a 1,000-pound Atlantic bluefin tuna after a two-hour battle.

It falls well short of the all-tackle world record, a 1,496-pound specimen also landed off Nova Scotia, in 1979 by Ken Fraser.

Towers' catch was towed to port, lifted from the water via crane, and fork-lifted to the scale.

The Daily Mail reports that Towers' tuna will yield about 20,000 pieces of sushi and is expected to sell for more than $32,000 to a buyer in Japan.

Not everybody will be a fan of the catch, however.

Atlantic bluefin tuna are listed as endangered on the IUCN red list of threatened species, and the fishery is strictly regulated.

--Pete Thomas

--Image showing Marc Towers with his 1,000-pound tuna is courtesy of Marc Towers

Mola molas haven't given spotlight to gray whales just yet

 

While Southern Californians await the first significant showing of gray whales, which are beginning their annual migration from Arctic waters to Baja California, there are other critters out there worthy of admiration.

Among them are Mola molas, or ocean sunfish, which have been unusually abundant since early summer, perhaps because of the presence of so many sea jellies as a food source.

Sightings of the docile, alien-like creatures have been common off Southern California and on Sunday off Dana Point, passengers on a Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari excursion got quality looks at a very large specimen, which was videotaped from the vessel's underwater viewing pod (see footage posted above).

Mola molas are the largest bony fish on the planet, and can measure up to 14 feet and weigh up to 5,000 pounds.

That's tiny compared to most of the whales that will soon be passing by, but still impressive to look at from the deck of a whale-watching boat, or in this case from one of Capt. Dave's unique viewing pods.

--Pete Thomas

Angler chokes to death after placing fish in mouth on a bet

It won't make any fishing bloopers videos, hopefully, but a sad story out of Brazil ought to remind anglers that while it may seem funny at the time, it's never wise to place large, live fish in their mouths.

An angler who had just reeled in a sole from a beach in Icapui choked to death after placing the flatfish between his teeth, on a bet, only to have the fish slither free and swim into his throat.

According to a story about the incident in the Independent, the man made it to the hospital two miles away, but collapsed and died before doctors could remove the obstructive fish.

Icapui police chief Carlos Alberto is quoted as saying: "It was a silly thing to do, but [the man] didn't deserve to die because of it."

Woman attacked by mountain lion in Big Bend National Park

A female hiker was attacked Friday by a mountain lion on a remote trail in Big Bend National Park in Texas, the park announced in a news release issued Saturday.

Andrea Pinero Cebrian was with friends on the Mesa de Angulia Trail at about 12:30 p.m. when the attack occurred. She sustained head injuries and was treated at the scene after her friends had telephoned for help.

According to the Alpine Daily Planet, Cebrian refused to be transported to the nearest hospital in Alpine, about 60 miles away.

Park officials stated in the news release that the area, in the westernmost region of the park, has been closed while rangers and biologists investigate and search for the mountain lion, or cougar.

The closure remained in effect through Sunday, according to the park website.

"Visitor safety is our main concern here in Big Bend and we will monitor and close the Mesa until we deem it safe for visitors," Park Superintendent Cindy Ott-Jones said in the news release.

Is it legal to ship abalone to others as gifts?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is it legal to ship harvested red abalone as gifts within California and also out of state if the abalone is tagged and still in the shell? If yes, anything else we should be aware of? (Michelle G.)

Answer: There are ways to gift abalone to an out-of-state person, but you would have to abide by the following laws and check with out-of-state officials to make sure they allow importation of abalone. The following laws affect how abalone are shipped out of state:

    •    No more than the legal bag and possession limit of three abalone may be possessed at any time (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 29.15(c)). Therefore, you cannot ship more that three abalone at a time. Otherwise, the shipper and the person picking up the abalone would be exceeding the possession limit.

    •    It is unlawful for a common carrier or his agent to transport, or offer for transport, or to receive for transportation from, any one person, during any interval of time, more than the bag limit of birds, mammals, fish, or amphibia which may legally be taken and possessed by such person during that interval (Fish and Game Code, sections 2346 and 2347).

    •    Abalone in possession (including transportation) shall not be removed from their shell, except at which time they are being prepared for immediate consumption (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(g)).

    •    Abalone must be shipped whole, in the shell with the tags attached (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(g)).

    •    Any package in which birds, mammals, fish, or amphibia, or parts thereof are offered for transportation to, or are transported or received for transportation by, a common carrier or his agent shall bear the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee and an accurate description of the numbers and kinds of birds, mammals, fish, or amphibia contained therein clearly and conspicuously marked on the outside thereof (FGC, section 2348).

Models jump in with whale sharks for bizarre fashion shoot

An underwater fashion shoot involving the world's largest sharks? An intriguing concept, to be sure, and an assignment that might seem perilous for the models.

But given that the recent photo shoot in the Philippines involved docile whale sharks, the result was merely a series of stunning images designed to inspire awareness regarding the plight of these amazing plankton-eating creatures.

(Note: This is a reprint from a Pete Thomas story posted Tuesday on the GrindTv.com Outdoor channel.)

Shawn Heinrichs teamed with Kristian Schmidt for the unique project, believed to be the world's first whale shark fashion shoot.

Also involved were models Roberta Mancino (a renowned sky-diver and wingsuit flier), Hannah Fraser, Fazili Krasniqi, and Taro Smith, and an underwater lighting specialist.

(Heinrichs and Schmidt allowed the one-time use of these images for this post. They are protected by copyright laws.)

The goal of the project off the remote village of Oslob, Heinrichs said via email, is "to highlight the magnificence of these creatures and bring their beauty to a global audience."

The challenge, the photographer added, was "to turn models into mermaids and create mesmerizing imagery that captured the unique connection between humans and the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark."

Whale sharks can measure to about 40 feet and weigh as much as 20 tons. They're considered a vulnerable species and although they support scuba diving tourism businesses in many parts of the world, they're still hunted in some regions, including the Philippines.

It was at Oslob, a year ago, that Heinrichs captured what he said were the first images revealing the close relationship that had developed between local fisherman and whale sharks. The fishermen had befriended the gentle giant by hand-feeding them scoops of tiny shrimp.

Of the recent fashion shoot Heinrichs said: "After a week of intense shooting, overcoming the elements, technical obstacle and fatigue, the team returned home with some of the most innovative and inspiring marine life interaction imagery ever captured."

As far as whale shark photography is concerned, that claim is difficult to dispute.

--Pete Thomas